ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of pediatric Tuina (PT) in preventing recurrent acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in children. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study based on the electronic medical records of children with recurrent ARTIs in 2016. Children were divided into a PT group or a non-PT group, according to whether they had received PT or not in 2016. The primary outcome was the number of ARTI episodes in 2017 and 2018. The secondary outcomes were the number of ARTIs leading to outpatient department visits and outpatient antibiotic prescriptions due to ARTIs in the same time period. Negative binomial regressions were used to detect the association between PT and the outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 2303 children were included in the analysis, including 94 in the PT group and 2209 in the non-PT group. Children who received PT six or more times in 2016 had fewer episodes of ARTIs in 2017 [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.42-0.84)] and 2018 [IRR: 0.58, 95% CI (0.36-0.94)] and fewer outpatient department visits due to ARTIs in 2017 [IRR: 0.56, 95% CI (0.38-0.83)] than children who had not received PT in 2016. There was no significant difference in the number of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving PT six or more times within one year is associated with a decrease in recurrent ARTIs in children in the following two years. Randomized controlled trials are needed for effect evaluation prior to establishing PT as a method for preventing recurrent ARTIs among children.
Subject(s)
Respiratory Tract Infections , Humans , Respiratory Tract Infections/drug therapy , Respiratory Tract Infections/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , China/epidemiology , Infant , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage , Recurrence , Adolescent , Acute DiseaseABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To present and analyze treatments and clinical outcomes of Chinese patients with influenza-like illness. METHODS: We conducted a multi-site observational study from December 2009 to April 2010. Patients with influenza-like illness from 45 hospitals were enrolled. Patients received Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), conventional treatments, or CHM plus conventional treatments (combination treatment) according to the guidelines for influenza A/H1N1 2009 in China. The primary outcomes were the time to alleviation of symptoms and the incidence of complications. The secondary outcomes were the time until becoming afebrile, incidence of severe illness, testing negative on an influenza A viral test, and total medical fees. RESULTS: In total, 5967 patients were enrolled. The percentages of patients prescribed CHM alone, conventional treatment, and combination treatment were 27.8%, 5.1%, and 67.7%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the time to alleviation of symptoms, incidence of complications, time to becoming afebrile, or rate of severe illness among the CHM, conventional, and combination treatment groups. The rates of testing negative on the influenza virus A rapid test and H1N1 virus test were 90.3% and 76.3%, respectively. However, significant differences were found in the total medical fees among the three groups: CHM treatments were more economical than the other two treatments. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of CHM for influenza-like illness was not different from that of conventional treatments, but it was more economical.